Watch Description
The Cleveland 037 is the 37th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Cleveland" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Cleveland 037 Unique: If you were waiting for the right one... it’s this one. The Cleveland 037 features and absolutely beautiful Antique pocket watch movement and dial originally manufactured in 1927 by the Ball Watch Company. 1927 was an interesting year in America, but one fun fact is that on January 7th, the first transatlantic telephone call was made between New York City and London. Ball didn’t manufacture his own movements, so this 19jewel beauty is called a Ball-Illinois since, technically it was made by the Illinois Watch Co, but on contract from Ball. We tried our best to photograph this stunning Art Deco dial, but make sure to check out the videos to see the depth of the engraving. It’s spectacular. The original hands are of a style we also don’t see often, featuring the open blocks near the end. If you look closely, you can see that even the second hand matches that style. We preserved this unique piece of American history inside our machined titanium case and used a classic black Horween Shell Cordovan strap. We’re going to send an Oxblood strap along with it since we honestly couldn’t decide which would be best. You can make that decision!
1927
B406785
https://player.vimeo.com/video/447536536
Movement Manufacturer Information
The movement inside of this watch was made by Ball Watch Company. We call this model "The Cleveland" because the company was located within the Cleveland city limits.
Founded by Webb C. Ball in 1891, Ball Watch Company's watches focused on the railroad industry and had a reputation for quality that was second to none. Mr. Ball famously invented and implemented a standard set of watch inspections and requirements to qualify a watch for use on the railroad at a time when timekeeping was paramount to safety. This was known as a "Standard" or "Railroad Grade" watch. The core of the manufacturing for these watches was performed by Hamilton and Waltham Watch Companies, but the adjustment, finishing, and testing performed by Ball set them ahead of the pack. One of the few companies still in existence, Ball now makes watches in Switzerland and is owned by Hong Kong group Asia Commercial Holdings Ltd.
Legal Disclaimer: All product and company names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Vortic's products and services are the property of their respective intellectual property rights holders, if any. Those intellectual property rights holders, other than Vortic, LLC, are not affiliated with Vortic, LLC, our products, or our website. They do not sponsor or endorse our materials.
Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- Model Year: 2020
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Machined Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Horween Shell Cordovan Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Ball Watch Company
- Serial Number:
- Manufacture Year:
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 19 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Cleveland 037 is the 37th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Cleveland" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Cleveland 037 Unique: If you were waiting for the right one... it’s this one. The Cleveland 037 features and absolutely beautiful Antique pocket watch movement and dial originally manufactured in 1927 by the Ball Watch Company. 1927 was an interesting year in America, but one fun fact is that on January 7th, the first transatlantic telephone call was made between New York City and London. Ball didn’t manufacture his own movements, so this 19jewel beauty is called a Ball-Illinois since, technically it was made by the Illinois Watch Co, but on contract from Ball. We tried our best to photograph this stunning Art Deco dial, but make sure to check out the videos to see the depth of the engraving. It’s spectacular. The original hands are of a style we also don’t see often, featuring the open blocks near the end. If you look closely, you can see that even the second hand matches that style. We preserved this unique piece of American history inside our machined titanium case and used a classic black Horween Shell Cordovan strap. We’re going to send an Oxblood strap along with it since we honestly couldn’t decide which would be best. You can make that decision!
1927
B406785
https://player.vimeo.com/video/447536536
Let customers speak for us
The Movement
The engine that powers this watch is an antique American pocket watch movement. All the gears and springs that make it tell time are roughly 100 years old on average. We call these watches the American Artisan Series because we're celebrating the history and legacy of the artisan watchmakers who built this engineering marvel a century ago in the United States.
The Story
Today most pocket watches are scrapped for the gold or silver of the case (the outside of the antique timepiece), leaving the inside (what we call the "movement") as trash.
We take pride in upcycling these pieces of American history by salvaging as many as we can, then preserving them inside our wristwatches.
Our expert team of watchmakers restores the antique movement and then we manufacture a custom wristwatch case here in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Strap
We partnered with Worn & Wound to produce a custom set of straps for our American Artisan Series watches. We now have 15 different colors to choose from including our two Horween Shell Cordovan options. These straps are made in the USA and are based on the Windup Model 2 Premium strap that Worn and Wound offers.
